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After an uncharacteristic performance in last week's season-opening loss at Killeen Shoemaker, the San Angelo Central High School football team will look to rectify itself in Friday's home opener against Del Rio.

The Bobcats' streak of six straight victories in season openers was snapped in a 54-21 loss in Killeen last week.

Central had five turnovers, numerous false starts, double-digit penalties, poor tackling, breakdowns on special teams and so forth.

"We just didn't play good," Central head coach Brent Davis said. "We didn't execute very well on offense at all, the defense didn't play very good, and we didn't take very good angles. Tons of turnovers and penalties and the things that get you beat, we did all of them.

"We've just got to get refocused. We've got a good group of kids here who are going to work hard and do what we want them to do. I don't know why we played so bad, but we did and hopefully we can get that out of the way and move on. After Saturday's film session, we're moving on. We've learned from it and we'll take it and get better from it."

The Bobcats' home opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at San Angelo Stadium. It will be carried live on KIXY 94.7-FM. Central and Del Rio are both 0-1. Del Rio lost 28-7 to San Antonio Warren last week.

Central quarterback Malachi Brown completed 20 of 38 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns — with wide receiver Tanner Dabbert catching all three TDs — in last week's loss, but he was plagued by a career-high four interceptions.

"He had flashes of greatness and then he had some really bad throws," Davis said of the junior QB, who had a team-high 74 yards rushing on 12 carries. "He's just got to get consistent. He just had a weird first game. I don't know how to explain it. He didn't look that way in practice at all.

"There were times when he looked like a million dollars. Heck, he threw for over 300 yards, and you don't do that if you can't throw the ball. On that last interception, he just needed a little bit more air and that would've been a touchdown. But those other ones, they were bad throws."

"We've got to protect him better, we've got to make him more comfortable, and the receivers have got to get to the ball and catch it better," Davis said. "We had a lot of drops that should have been caught. We've all got to play better.

"It wasn't just on him. Our whole unit's got to play better on both sides of the ball and I think we will. We're a work in progress and we knew that."

Dabbert caught nine passes for 168 yards and TDs of 33, 28 and 16 yards. He was one of the bright spots on an otherwise lackluster night for the Bobcats.

"He played really well and played exactly like we felt like he would," Davis said. "I thought our running backs played really well and caught the ball well and ran the ball well. And I thought our offensive line played well. They had some mistakes, but everybody had some mistakes with false starts.

"The penalties were outrageous and it's got to change. But the effort that we had was encouraging on offense. On defense, we didn't play well. We didn't tackle well and we didn't take the proper angles, and a lot of that is because of the youth over there that's never played on a Friday. It's not an excuse. We've got to perform better."

As bad as it may have looked, Davis knows they'll get things turned around.

"I'm not sure if we're going to play anybody who's faster than (Shoemaker)," he said. "When we play people with that kind of speed, it exposes our lack of (speed).

"We're going to get better. I'm not discouraged at all. We just had a bad first game and got exposed a little bit in some weak areas that we know we have, and we've got to improve there."

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San Angelo Central High School senior offensive lineman Kurt Klausner (right) makes a block during the Bobcats' annual spring game at San Angelo Stadium on Thursday, May 23, 2019.(Photo: Charles Bryce / San Angelo Standard-Times)

Davis lauded the performances of offensive linemen Kurt Klausner, Carlos Luna and Bruce Smith. He said lineman Bradey Allen played well on both sides of the ball.

The Central coach said the defensive line's performance was "probably the bright spot of our football team."

Now the attention turns to defending the home turf against Del Rio.

Central rolled to a 49-3 blowout in Del Rio last year, but that was the game in which then-senior Maverick McIvor was lost for the season with a knee injury.

Davis said the Bobcats know better than to take the Rams lightly.

"Del Rio's going to play hard, man," Davis said. "They always do. It's always a tough contest because of the way they get after us. We fire them up and we've got to meet their intensity. They've got a really big football team.

"Watching film on them, they've got a good scheme on offense and defense, and they're well coached. They're not fast (like Shoemaker), but they're well coached and they're a big group."

Roderick Taylor is in his first season as Del Rio's head coach, and he's given the team a new look.

"They're trying to run the ball more than they did last year — off-tackle, counters, trap schemes and things like that," Davis said. "They like to RPO (run-pass option) and things like that, and the quarterback's a good quarterback.

"Defensively, they're really a 3-3 stack, and that's different than what they've done in the past, too."